Veggie Guacamole with Fresh Garlic and a Pinch of Lime

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Veggie Guacamole with fresh garlic and a pinch of lime is the dip you didn’t know your tastebuds needed! Made with yellow squash, zucchini, carrots, and onions, it’s a tasty way to get your vegetables! And the blend of creamy avocado with crunchy vegetables is sublime. {Paleo + Vegan}

Spiriteds, do you love vegetables, dislike vegetables, feel ambivalent about vegetables, or D – OTHER about vegetables? Admittedly, I am a little bit E, or ALL OF THE ABOVE. I love some vegetables and not others. I always want to include more vegetables in my diet but seem to forget. And there are some vegetables I struggle to get excited about. But when it comes to Veggie Guacamole, well, now that’s a veggie recipe I can remember and get behind. Once you try it, Spiriteds, you’ll see why, too.

The earthy flavors in the squash and zucchini pair well with the piquant onion and garlic. They also absorb the lime juice and sea salt well. The slightly sweet baby carrots keep the guacamole from turning flat – in taste and texture. And let’s not forget the cilantro, unless it tastes like soap to you (in which case, feel free to omit). It adds the right amount of peppery flavor to the neutral, creamy avocados.

In grad school, the word “synergy” came up frequently. So much so that after graduation I avoided it like the plague. ANY OTHER WORD, PLEASE. I read, heard, and wrote it too often. But I confess, in this Veggie Guacamole recipe, synergy is the word. Because why? Because each ingredient enhances and complements the others. 

And when you pair it with lightly salted chips, a burger or chicken, or just a spoon, then you’ll taste why for yourself, too. 

Veggie Guacamole is

• Paleo and vegan
• Earthy and savory (with a little bit of sweet)
• A delicious blend of creamy, crunchy textures 

Veggie Guacamole ingredients

• Avocados. Start with four medium avocados. If they are super-large, then you might only need two or three. And if they are super-tiny, then you may need five. I typically keep a few extra on hand when I’m making guacamole, in case some of the avocados are browned or not ripened yet.
• Yellow squash and zucchini. Finely dice each vegetable. I don’t bother to peel them.
• Baby carrots. Finely diced. If you want to use regular carrots, that’s fine, too. The key is to cut the carrots into small pieces.
• Red and green onions. Like the aforementioned vegetables, finely dice the red onion and thinly slice the green onion.
• Fresh garlic. I choose one medium-to-large clove. If the cloves are tiny, then I might go with two. Press or mince the clove(s).
• Fresh cilantro. And I do mean fresh. When I make this recipe, I use cilantro that I’ve purchased within the last 24 hours. Maybe 48 hours, tops. And if the cilantro is pre-packaged, then I don’t open it until just prior to making this recipe.
• Lime juice and sea salt. If you can swing fresh lime juice, then do it. The bright, citrusy flavor is right at home in this guacamole recipe. And you may not need a lot of extra sea salt to balance it out. However, having glommed on about all of that, please know bottled will also work just fine. I’ve done both, and either will work. As for the sea salt, add to taste.

How to make Veggie Guacamole

1. To a large mixing bowl, add the avocados and mash with a fork or potato masher. Then stir in the yellow squash, zucchini, baby carrots, red and green onions, and pressed or minced garlic.
2. Once combined, then add the fresh cilantro, stirring it into the mixture as well as possible. Flavor with the lime juice and sea salt, adjusting quantities as needed.
3. Transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy!
4. This guacamole can be stored in an airtight container for up to 24 hours. It will brown during that time, however the flavor should still be fine, and a quick stir of the ingredients should help brighten the color.

Recipe tips and tricks

• Have extra avocados on hand. Avocados are a finicky ingredient to begin with. In this recipe, how fresh they are will sometimes influence their “mashability.” You may need an extra one or two avocados, either to make a swap for one that isn’t ready (or is past its prime) or to add to the creaminess factor.
• Slice, dice, and chop the vegetables into small pieces. If you read the ingredient list above, then you know I’m big on small pieces in this recipe. And there is a specific reason for that. The smaller pieces are easier to stir into the mashed avocado and then dipped with a chip or slathered atop a main dish. And the smaller pieces help ensure each bite is balanced with all the flavors and textures of the recipe.
• Consider how you’ll serve your guacamole before settling on sea salt amounts. If you are serving your guacamole with salty chips or atop a seasoned burger or chicken, then you may not need as much sea salt in the guacamole itself. If you aren’t sure how much sea salt or lime juice you want to add, then start with a smaller amount, taste-test with your chip or a bite of burger, and then add more if needed.

Recipe troubleshooting

• The avocados won’t mash well. They may not be fresh enough yet. If all you have are hardened or gritty avocados, then try mashing them in a food processor or on a LOW setting in a high-speed blender.
• The guacamole tastes too tangy or bitter. This happens sometimes if the avocados aren’t in their window of ripened perfection, making the lime juice stand out A LOT. This also happens sometimes with bottled lime juice. Whatever the reason, stir in a pinch or two of sea salt, and see if that helps matters.
• The guacamole is too salty. If you have another avocado, then add it to the mix. Another fix is to add a splash of lime juice to balance the salty flavor.
• The guacamole doesn’t taste fresh. Common culprits are avocados that are past their prime and cilantro that has begun to wilt. Extra splashes of lime juice and pinches of sea salt may save the day. 

Side note: When I begin just about any avocado recipe, I not only look at the avocados when I slice into them, but I’ll also smell them as well. Sometimes they look fine but their smell tells a different story. If there is no smell, then they might not be ripe enough to add flavor or “mashability”. However, if they smell pungent, then they maybe over-ripened and past their prime. If you have avocados that fall into that category but aren’t brown or smelly yet, then throw them into Single Serving Chocolate Chia Smoothie and save the fresher avocados for this recipe.

More dips for chips!

We love a good guacamole, salsa, or pico de Gallo. And if you are the same, then you might want to tuck these tasty recipes into your virtual (or actual) recipe tin.

• Cucumber Pico de Gallo
• Hot ’n Spicy Pico de Gallo
• Roasted Salsa Verde
• Winter Fruit Salsa
• Homemade Pico de Gallo
• Fruit Salsa

Spiriteds, stay well and stay wild. Jump into the fun when you can, and always remember I’m glad you’re here. ❤️

Veggie Guacamole with Fresh Garlic and a Pinch of Lime

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Veggie Guacamole with fresh garlic and a pinch of lime is the dip you didn’t know your tastebuds needed! Made with yellow squash, zucchini, carrots, and onions, it’s a tasty way to get your vegetables! The blend of creamy avocado with crunchy vegetables is sublime. It’s a delicious way to eat more veggies! {Paleo + Vegan}

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Category: Appetizers and Snacks
• Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 avocados, mashed
• 1/2 cup yellow squash, finely diced
• 1/2 cup zucchini, finely diced
• 1/2 cup baby carrots, sliced into small pieces
• 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
• 1/4 cup green onion, thinly sliced
• 1 clove fresh garlic, minced or pressed
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced
• 1–2 tablespoons lime juice
• Sea salt, to taste

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Instructions

1. To a large mixing bowl, add the avocados and mash with a fork or potato masher. Then stir in the yellow squash, zucchini, baby carrots, red and green onions, and pressed or minced garlic.
2. Once combined, then add the fresh cilantro, stirring it into the mixture as well as possible. Flavor with the lime juice and sea salt, adjusting quantities as needed.
3. Transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy!
4. This guacamole can be stored in an airtight container for up to 24 hours. It will brown during that time, however the flavor should still be fine, and a quick stir of the ingredients should help brighten the color.

Notes

• If possible, keep a few extra avocados on hand in case some you are working with aren’t ripened enough or have started to spoil. One way to double check their freshness once you’ve sliced into the avocados is to smell them. If there is no smell, then they may not be ripened enough. And if the smell is pungent, they may be past their prime.
• Chop, dice, and slice the vegetables into small pieces. This makes stirring them into the mashed avocado much easier. And it helps ensure each bite is balanced with all the flavors and textures of the recipe.
• Add the lime juice and sea salt in smaller quantities, increasing as needed to achieve the desired flavor. 
• Please see the blog post for additional tips and tricks.
• Yields will vary depending on the size and number of the avocados used.

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